Mykolaiv Oblast Councils Ignore Requirements of Budget Publications

Local councils in Mykolaiv Oblast mostly comply with the formal requirements of the legislation on openness, but transparency often remains only a show, not a real tool for public control.

This was reported by analysts of the Center for Public Investigations.

Despite meeting the requirements in terms of formal indicators, most councils do not make disclosure convenient for citizens. Often, budget and other important documents are posted in inconvenient formats, such as scanned PDFs or multi-page archives, which makes finding the information you need a "real test of endurance."

The CPR's analysis showed that openness remains a formality, as some councils limit themselves to textual content without attachments, while others place files in different sections of the website, making it difficult to access information.

SCREEN SHOT: CPR

Out of 57 local budgets, 32 communities have a complete procedure for publishing documents, while another 19 communities have published full information, including annexes. However, six budgets demonstrate minimal transparency by not publishing full data or not posting any document at all.

Some local governments (four communities) have limited themselves to publishing only the text part of the decision, which actually makes the document meaningless, as all the details, including revenues and expenditures, are contained in the annexes.

In addition, the search is complicated by inconvenient navigation. For example, on the websites of Shyrokiv and Veselynivka village councils, sections have confusing drop-down menus. Some councils, such as Novomariivka, publish packages of decisions of entire plenary sessions at once - 100-200 pages in one file, where the budget decision may be "buried" as late as page 40. Others, such as the Kazankivka or Bratske village councils, provide only archives or links, requiring additional actions from users. There is also confusion when budget documents are posted not in the usual section with decisions, but in separate menus, as is done on the websites of Kutsurub and Koblivka village councils.

Experts note that the situation is complicated by the lack of consistency in tracking changes to the budget: none of the websites of Mykolaiv Oblast authorities has a mechanism similar to the Verkhovna Rada, where all current versions can be tracked. The state still pays little attention to how local governments publish their documents. And as long as the procedure for posting is not regulated, users have to continue their "budget quests" between menus, archives, and PDFs.

Катерина Глушко